I thought it might be interesting to see what was around 50 years ago in the electronics world (will also check to see what I've got from 40 and 30 years ago etc. Would be cool to see what others have too).
This was from the December issue of RSGB's magazine exactly 50 years ago - not a multimeter but a multiminor! Quite an attractive design, pretty good accuracy! and convenient section for storing the probes.
I found this photo on ebay:
AVO was a pretty famous company, there is a short history of AVO here. A Scottish engineer, Donald Macadie was responsible for inventing the worlds first multimeter and turned it into the AVO business. AVO were based originally in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London. Which today seems to be a block of apartments, no surprise there.
I couldn't find an earlier photo of it, but this is a couple of minutes down the road, circa 1963 (image source):
AVO's most famous meter was possibly the Model 7 - it was produced for around 50 years from the mid 1930's onward. It was the size of
a couple of bricks.
I had one but regrettably I disposed of it many years ago : (
According to Electronics Weekly the AVO multi-meters were still in demand well into 2008, only stopped being produced due to lack of components.
Through acquisition and name changes the AVO business is now owned by Megger in Dover, Kent (which was formerly an AVO site too) who still make test instruments of course.
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